Monday 21 November 2013

So like Dorothy I began my journey to the wonderful land of Oz, except unlike Dorothy there was no tornado, flying house and yellow brick road on the way. Instead there was the longest plane journey of my life (both literally and metaphorically), some interesting plane food including serving us dinner for breakfast and the wonderous appearance of jet lag, not to mention not knowing what time/day it is both in Oz but also back at home. I apologise for any messages you may receive in the middle of the night.

I guess having never experienced jet lag, I was sceptical and decided that I could beat it, even taking a nap in the middle of the day when we arrived and thinking that the fact I slept for a majority of the plane journey would mean it would be Zoe – 1 and Jet Lag – 0. How very wrong I was. I guess when you become so sleep deprived, seeing every hour of the night and cursing the jet lag that wont “f**** let me sleep” you begin to appreciate sleep for what it is. It’s safe to say I am in no hurry to get back onto a plane and fly home anytime soon (sorry Mum). Jet Lag -1 and Zoe – 0 it would seem.

My first impressions of Australia are good. It’s a bit like England, the people and the atmosphere, except the weather is a lot nicer (we’ll just ignore the fact we have rain last night and it’s a little overcast today) and the people are extremely friendly (we walked to the National Park yesterday and everyone was greeting us with a good morning, something that really wouldn’t have happened back home.) The houses dare I say it are a bit like those you see in Neighbours but all seem nice enough and have many of the comforts of home.

I’ve had my first experience of an Aussie BBQ, having been invited to one on our second day by Nigel’s friends Brett and Karin and their two little boys Lucas and Isaac, who are both extremely well behaved and put Tiah to shame. The hospitality of people in Australia really surprised me having been used to the attitudes back home.

I’ve also already managed to locate a Koala, some parrots and some possums so have happily ticked them off my list of wildlife to see. Of course I have also managed to avoid some of the other wildlife. I have yet to be eaten by a shark or bitten by a snake. Kate keeps mentioning the lack of spiders we have seen however I’m not too keen to get acquainted with these creatures and will kill Kate if she jinxes us and I go back to a house full of creepy crawlies.

Although Adelaide isn’t known for being a touristy place, there are still a few features that I quite like. Brett and Karin told us of a national park not too far away where you can apparently see kangaroos and can also cuddle a Koala. You have no idea how excited I am for this, even if the koala isn’t too happy about it.

Overall I’m not sure whether I would settle in Adelaide for too long, I’m already a bit restless and wanting to see more. Don’t get me wrong, Adelaide seems like a lovely place to live and raise a family but not really the best place for the average traveller, but whilst Adelaide is a lovely place and the people are hospitable, it really does feel like a home from home as such.